Movable roof device



Oct. 11, 1966 s, MULLER ETAL 3,277,619

MOVABLE ROOF DEVI CE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 15, 1963 M/ VE IV 70/?5.

DAVID S. MILLER WALTER F. VENDETTI BY: am WM $14M Oct. 11, 1966 D. s. MILLER ET AL MOVABLE ROOF DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 13, 1965 lNVENTORS. DAVID S. MILLER WALTER F. VENDETTI FIG. 7

ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,277,619 MOVABLE ROOF DEVICE David S. Miller, 494 Ulloa St, and Walter F. Vendetti, 317 Warren Drive, both of San Francisco, Calif. Filed Aug. 13, 1963, Ser. No. 301,777 3 Claims. (Cl. 52-72) This invention relates to a movable and remotely controllable roof section for houses and other types of buildin s.

Modern architectural designs for homes and the like often provide for open court-like areas within the perimeter of the housing that are exposed to the sun and open air. Heretofore, such areas were not fully practical because during adverse weather conditions they were exposed and unprotected from temperature extremes and from the wind and rain. One primary object of the present invention is to overcome the aforesaid problem by providing a movable roof section for covering internal courts or atriums in houses that can be moved mechanically by operation of a single remotely located switch control to either the open or closed position as desired.

Another object of my invention is to provide mechanically controllable roof sections for houses and the like that can be moved back and forth to expose and close an opening in the roof of the house and which can be installed on either fiat or sloped roofs.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a movable roof closure for houses that will seal the roof opening above an atrium or the like and prevent the influx of rain and wind when in the closed position.

More specifically, an object of the invention is to provide a movable closure assembly for roof openings in housings and the like wherein the closure assembly has its own electrical drive system and wheels, and is adapted to ride in parallel tracks supported by the roof on opposite sides of the opening.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a remotely controllable movable roof section for covering and uncovering a roof opening that is driven by electrical power and wherein a conduit supplying current to a motor carried by the roof so as not to obstruct the movement of the roof section back and forth with respect to the roof opening.

Another object of the invention is to provide a remotely controllable movable roof closure for houses that is particularly well adapted for ease and economy of manufacture, as well as being easy to install and maintain with a minimum of labor and without the necessity for special tools. t

A further object of the invention is to provide a mechanically controllable roof closure device for atriums and the like in houses that can be moved to any desired intermediate position, as well as to the open and closed positions. My invention provides for an instantaneous and positive acting control which enables the roof section to be moved to any desired position and which overcomes any rollback problems on sloped roofs and also any overrun problems due to the momentum of the closure structure.

Other objects, advantages and features of my invention will become apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an enlarged fragmentary view in perspective showing a movable roof for a house or building embodying the principles of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view in elevation showing details of the drive system for the movable roof of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary plan view of the drive system shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view in elevation and in section taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a view in elevation showing an embodiment of my movable roof section for installation on sloped roofs;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary plan view showing an alternative form of drive system for a movable roof section according to the invention;

FIG. 7 is a wiring diagram of the electrical drive system for the movable roof sections of FIGS. 1-6.

Referring to the drawings, FIGS. 1-3 show a movable skylight, atrium cover, or roof section 10 embodying the principles of the invention. Although our movable roof section 10 may be installed on various types of houses or buildings and on flat or pitched roofs, it is particularly adaptable for use as a removable cover for a court or patio area located within the perimeter of the house. In accordance with the invention, the roof section is remotely controllable so that it can be rolled back from the roof opening to expose the room or court below directly to the open air. As shown in a typical installation in FIG. 1, the house roof 11 is provided with a rectangular opening 12 having an inner casement or frame 13 that extends somewhat above the roof level. Fixed to the roof 11 and extending along opposite sides and beyond one end of the opening 12 are a pair of support members 14, such as wooden 4 X 4s to each of which is fixed a channel member 15 that is open upwardly. The support members 14 maintain the channel members 15 well above any gravel or other material which may be used on the roof surface. These channel members 15, extending parallel on opposite sides of the opening 12 serve as guide rails in which the movable roof section 10 is supported as it moves backward and forward.

The movable roof section 10 of FIG. 1 comprises generally a rectangular frame 16 consisting of a pair of rigid end members 17 and 18 and a pair of side members 19 and 20 which may be of Wood or metal material and all of which are connected together in a suitable manner at their ends to provide adequate strength. Attached to the end frame member 17 is a pair of brackets 21 each supporting a rotatable wheel 22, the wheels being spaced at the same distance apart as the channel members or guide rails 15.

Fixed along the side frame members 19 and 20 and extending downwardly therefrom so as to overlap the outside vertical surfaces of the supports 14, as shown in FIG. 4, are a pair of skirt members 23 made from flexible heat and moisture resistant sheet plastic or rubberlike material. The latter member 23 serve as an effective seal to prevent Wind or rain from entering the roof opening 12 around the sides of the roof section 10 when it is in the closed position.

Any suitable rigid material, either transparent or opaque, may be used to cover the frame 16. For example, glass or a suitable plastic could be utilized, and it can be supported in any desired manner on the frame 16, preferably using a series of cross supporting members 24.

To the end member 18 at the opposite end of the frame 16 areattached another pair of bracket members 25 for supporting a pair of wheels 26 at the same spaced apart distance as the wheels 22 and the guide rails 15. All four of the wheels 22 and 26 preferably have a rubber tire portion with a tread width which causes them to fit snugly and thus to run smoothly in the guide rails 15. As shown best in FIG. 3, each of the bracket members 25 is provided with a bearing 27 for supporting opposite ends of an axle member 28 to which the latter wheels 26 are attached. Spaced inwardly from one bracket member 25 is a mounting plate 29 which is fixed to the end frame 3 member 18 and supports an electrical motor 30. In the embodiment of FIGS. 14 a sprocket wheel 31 is fixed to the drive shaft 32 of the motor 30 and is connected by a chain 33 to a larger sprocket 34 fixed to the axle 28.

A flexible cable 35 carrying four wires supplying the electrical power to the motor 30 extends to a mounting base 36 of .a spring loaded wind-up reel 37 that is attached to one end of the frame 16. The wind-up reel 37 may be of any suitable type that is commercially available and is supported by a mounting bracket 38 so that its drum is free to rotate. Wound on the reel 37 is an electrical conduit 39 whose outer end extends to an electrical junction fitting 40 attaching the roof adjacent the opening 12 therein. The reel 37 is spring biased internally to rotate in one direction, thereby tending to maintain tension on the electrical conduit 39 and to keep it wound up on the reel drum as the roof section moves back and forth on the roof. An arm 41 attached to one side of the reel 37 extends outwandly therefrom and is provided with a notched guide or roller 42 at its end to assure that the electrical conduit 39 is properly guided and Wound thereon without chafing on the sides of the reel drum. Electrical continuity is maintained from the inner end of the conduit 39 that is wound on the reel 37 to the flexible cable 35 by suitable means such as collector rings within the hub of the reel drum and conductors connected therefrom to the reel mounting base 36, Details of the collector rings are not shown since, as stated previously, the reel 37 is a well known device that is available commercially.

Fixed to and extending outwardly from the side of one of the guide rails is a pair of microswitches 43 and 44 which serve to stop the movable roof section 10 automatically when it reaches either the extreme open or closed position or, in other words, the end limits of its travel. A projecting switch operating cam member 45 is attached to the underside of one of the side members 19 on the frame 16 and is adapted to engage the switch member 43 to actuate it when the movable roof has moved to the fully opened position and to engage the switch 44 when it moves to the closed position.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the present invention may be applied to a roof section 10a and adapted for installation on a sloped roof 50. In this situation the guide channels 15a are supported by fixed longitudinal members 51 on the roof 50 so that the web portions of the channels extend horizontally at diiferent levels. At both ends of the movable roof section 10a its axles 52 are providedwith universal joints 53 and 54 near each end so that the axle end portions 55 and 56 supported by brackets 57 and 53, respectively, can be oriented horizontally and the wheels 59 attached to the end portions can remain vertical as they roll along. At the drive end of the movable roof section, as shown in FIG. 5, the drive motor a is preferably mounted on a bracket 60 which also supports one end of the central axle portion. The motor 30a is oriented in a. horizontal position and has a sprocket 61 attached to its drive shaft 62, a chain 63 connected to the sprocket 61 extends vertically around a sprocket 64 fixed to the horizontally oriented end portion 56 of the axle 52 to which a driving wheel 59 is attached. The end portion 55 at the other end of the axle 52 is connected to the central axle portion by the universal joint 53 and is also oriented horizontally so that its attached wheel will remain vertical as it rolls along its horizontal guide rail. The roof section 100 is also provided with a spring loaded take up reel 37a mounted on a bracket 65 on which is wound an electrical conduit 39:: and connected to the conduit a of the motor 30a as previously described.

The aforesaid modification of FIG. 5 illustrates one installation for sloped roofs where the roof section moves horizontally along the roof. However, in many instances it may be desirable for the roof section to move up and down the slope of the roof rather than along it, particularly where the roof has a relatively low pitch. With such installations, an inherent problem is that of braking the roof section to keep it from rolling downward due to gravity. This problem is solved by use of the drive arrangement shown in FIG. 6. Here, a motor 30b mounted on the frame 16b of a roof section 10b has a shaft with a sprocket 71 that is connected by a chain 72 to another sprocket 73 which is connected to a right angle gear box 74. The latter comprises a worm gear 75 on a shaft 76 which is connected at one end to the sprocket 73. The worm gear is meshed with a pinion 77 which is fixed to an axle 78 to which are fixed a pair of drive wheels 79 of the type previously described. The internal friction of the right angle worm gear drive 75 prevents any reverse turning of the drive wheels 79 on the axle 78. Therefore, the roof section 1% controlled by a drive system as described above cannot roll backwards when moved to any desired point on a sloped roof installation. The right angle gear system serves as a brake to hold the roof section at any desired intermediate position.

The operation of my movable roof section should be readily understood from the foregoing description and also with reference to FIG. 7 which shown a circuit diagram for control of the electrical drive motor in any of the aforesaid embodiments of the invention. The motor 30 is preferably a single phase alternating current type with a four wire junction box. Dual leads are provided for starting winding of the motor and when current is interchanged between these leads the motor changes its direction of rotation. As shown in the circuit diagram, power is supplied from the convenient source at 117 volts through the leads and 86 to a standard 3 pole direct throw center-cit switch indicated by the numeral 87. With the switch 87 in one position the motor 30 turns in the direction to open the movable roof sec- .tion and with the switch in the opposite position the motor turns in the reverse direction to close the roof section. The power lead 85 is connected through a pair of branches 88 and 89 containing the open and close limit switches 43 and 44 and connected to a pair of terminals 90 and 91 on the main switch 87 which correspond to the open and closed positions for the roof section. A third neutral terminal 92 is on the movable portion 93 of the switch between the terminals 90 and 91. Within the switch there are two other terminals for each of the open, closed and neutral positions, namely, 94, 95, 96, 97, and 98, 99, respectively. A lead 100 is connected from the neutral terminal 99 to the motor 30 and it is also connected to the power lead 86. A pair of leads 101 and 102 are connected to the terminals 94 and 95 of the roof open position and they in turn are cross connected by a pair of leads 103 and 104 within the switch 87 to the terminals 96 and 97 for the roof closed position. Another lead 105 from the motor 30 is con nected to both the neutral terminals 92 and 98. All three neutral terminals 92, 98 and 99 are movable simultaneously to contact the terminals of the open or closed position when the switch is actuated. When the switch is placed in the roof open position, current flows through the power lead 85, the lead 88 to the interconnected terminals 92 and 98, and thence through the leads 101 and 105 to the motor 30. The other power lead 86 supplies current through leads and 102 to the motor. It is apparent that when the switch 87 is moved to the roof close position the current from power lead 85 now flows to the motor through the leads 102 and 105 instead of through 101 and 105, and current in power lead 86 flows in lead 100 and 101 to motor. This reversal of current flow causes the motor to reverse its direction of rotation.

When the motor is energized in either direction it drives the axle with the drive wheels 26 or 59 which move along the parallel rails 15. The electrical conduit 9 on the take-up reel 37 constantly remains taut because of the spring tension of the reel when it is moving either toward or away from the junction fitting 40 in the roof. Thus, the conduit 39 is kept above the roof level and away from the guide rails and it never interferes with the travel of the roof section by obstructing its normal travel back and forth. When it is desired to move the roof section to either the fully opened or fully closed position, the control switch 87 is moved to the appropriate position and the normally closed limit switch 43 or 44 is operated by the cam member 45 to open and thereby automatically cut off the current to the drive motor 30. Thus, the roof section can be easily controlledto its extreme positions as well as to intermediate positions and it can never roll off of the guide rails due to an overrunning condition.

To those skilled in the art to which this invention relates, many changes in construction an widely differing embodiments and applications of the invention will suggest themselves Without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The disclosures and the description herein are purely illustrative and are not intended to be in any sense limiting.

We claim:

1. In combination with a building having an opening in its roof and a pair of parallel guide members extending along opposite sides of said opening, a movable roof section for covering and uncovering the roof opening comprising:

a covered frame having length and width dimensions greater than the roof opening;

a pair of wheels mounted on each of the opposite ends of said frame and adapted to be guided by said rail members;

an electrical motor on said roof section;

means drivingly connecting said electrical motor to at least one of said wheels, including a pair of sprockets connected by a chain, one of said sprockets being driven by said motor and the other said sprocket being connected to a worm gear, and a pinion meshed with said worm gear fixed to an axle member, at least one of said wheels being attached to said axle;

a spring loaded take-up reel biased to rotate by itself in one direction;

an electrical conduit partially wound on said take-u-p reel and connected at one end to a junction on the roof adjacent its opening, said take-up reel thereby winding and unwinding said conduit and keeping it taut as said roof section is moved backwards and forwards;

means electrically connecting said motor and the end of said electrical conduit attached to said take-up reel;

and switch means connected to said electrical conduit and installed within said building for controlling the travel of said movable roof section on said rails.

6 2. In combination with a building having an opening in its roof and a pair of parallel guide members extending along opposite sides of said opening, a movable roof section for covering and uncovering the roof opening comprising:

a covered frame having length and width dimensions greater than the roof opening;

a pair of wheels mounted on each of the opposite ends of said frame and adapted to be guided by said rail members;

an electrical motor of said roof section;

means drivingly connecting said electrical motor to at least one of said wheels;

a spring loaded take-up reel biased to rotate by itself in one direction;

an electrical conduit partially wound on said take-up reel and connected at one end to a junction on the roof adjacent its opening, said take-up reel thereby winding and unwinding said conduit and keeping it taut as said roof section is moved backwards and forwards;

means electrically connecting said motor and the end of said electrical conduit attached to said take-up reel; switch means connected to said electrical conduit and installed within said building for controlling the travel of said movable roof section on said rails;

and axle means mounted on one end of said roof section and having end portions connected by universal joints to a central portion, one of said wheels being connected to each of said end portions, and means attached to said frame for suporting said axle end portions.

3. The movable roof section of claim 2 including means for drivingly connecting said motor with one of said axle end portions.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,239,421 9/1917 Metzger 52-64 1,771,107 7/1930 Abt 52-72 2,229,908 1/ 1941 Wenneborg 5266 2,710,058 6/ 1955 Gronlund 268-124 2,848,722 8/1958 Choporis 26853 3,118,148 1/1964 Taylor 114202 FOREIGN PATENTS 537,675 1941 Great Britain. 591,599 1959 Italy.

OTHER REFERENCES Design Trends, December 1937, p. 53.

FRANK L. ABBOTT, Primary Examiner. JOHN E. MURTAGH, Examiner. 

1. IN COMBINATION WITH A BUILDING HAVING AN OPENING IN ITS ROOF AND A PAIR OF PARALLEL BUIDE MEMBERS EXTENDING ALONG OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID OPENING, A MOVABLE ROOF SECTION FOR COVERING AND UNCOVERING THE ROOF OPENING COMPRISING: A COVERED FRAME HAVING LENGTH AND WIDTH DIMENSIONS GREATER THAN THE ROOF OPENING; A PIR OF WHEELS MOUNTED ON EACH OF THE OPPOSITE ENDS OF SAID FRAME AND ADAPTED TO BE GUIDED BY SAID RAIL MEMBERS; AN ELECTRICAL MOTOR ON SAID ROOF SECTION; MEANS DRIVINGLY CONNECTING SAID ELECTRICAL MOTOR TO AT LEAST ONE OF SAID WHEELS, INCLUDING A PAIR OF SPROCKETS CONNECTED BY A CHAIN, ONE OF SAID SPROCKETS BEING DRIVEN BY SAID MOTOR AND THE OTHER SAID SPROCKET BEING CONNECTED TO A WORM GEAR, AND A PINION MESHED WITH SAID WORM GEAR FIXED TO AN AXLE MEMBER, AT LEAST ONE OF SAID WHEELS BEING ATTACHED TO SAID AXLE; A SPRING LOADED TAKE-UP REEL BIASED TO ROTATE BY ITSELF IN ONE DIRECTION; AN ELECTRICAL CONDUIT PARTIALLY WOUND ON SAID TAKE-UP REEL AND CONNECTEDT AT ONE END TO A JUNCTION ON THE ROOF ADJACENT ITS OPENING, SAID TAKE-UP REEL THEREBY WINDING AND UNWINDING SAID CONDUIT AND KEEPING IT TAUT AS SAID ROOF SECTION IS MOVED BACKWARDS AND FORWARDS; MEANS ELECTRICALLY CONNECTING SAID MOTOR AND THE END OF SAID ELECTRICAL CONDUIT ATTACHED TO SAID TAKE-UP REEL; AND SWITCH MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID ELECTRICAL CONDUIT AND INSTALLED WITHIN SAID BUILDING FOR CONTROLLING THE TRAVEL OF SAID MOVABLE ROOF SECTION ON SAID RAILS. 